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After spending time with some friends at Captain Jacks on Sodus Bay, Gillian and I decided to make the short trip over to Chimney Bluffs State Park. Gillian had never been to Chimney Bluffs or even Sodus Bay. I practically grew up on boats that my parents kept in Sodus. We sailed between Sodus, Fair Haven, The Thousand Islands and Kingston for many summers, so for me, the area holds fond childhood memories. One of the nearby places we would spend hours anchored was in front of Chimney Bluffs. Which back in those days, was not yet an official State Park.

Even today, as a NY State Park, it does not have much in the way of amenities, but does offer a small parking lot, a picnic area, a restroom, and a few hiking trails. Since today we were interested in seeing the bluffs from the beach, we drove directly to the parking area at the end of East Bay Road instead of using the official park entrance off Garner Road. (See map links below) We skipped the hiking trails but you can find a map at the official NYS Park website. For a local website with descriptions of the trails, see here. For an article about the bluffs, check Wikipedia.

We arrived shortly after a major downpour. In the photo below you can see the trenches created by the water rushing down the faces of the bluffs.

Looking up one of the bluffs at Chimney Bluffs State Park

And here you see a thunderhead passing just south of the bluffs. We could hear the thunder but we stayed dry.

To show the scale of the bluff formations I composed this shot with my girlfriend Gillian at the base of the bluffs.

Below is one of the more interesting formations at the bluffs. Also, you can just see a large rock hanging from the left wall of the right bluff. I was unable to show any scale here, but that rock is a minimum of two feet in diameter. A good reason to heed the warnings about falling rocks!

Chimney Bluffs, NY or Arizona?

The photo below (courtesy of TripAdvisor) is of Mitten Ridge, Arizona. Maybe you see a slight resemblance to the shot above???

Mitten Ridge, Arizona - Photo courtesy Trip Advisor

Chimney Bluffs State Park has a nice picnic area on the shore of Lake Ontario as well as a couple hours of hiking trails that overlook the bluffs you see above. The rocky beach has crystal clear water thats wonderful for a refreshing swim and the sunsets are gorgeous. Check it out some time!